Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, 3rd Baron Grantham, 6th Baron Lucas, KG, PC, FRS (born Robinson, later Weddell; 8 December 178114 November 1859), styled as The Hon. Thomas Robinson until 1786 and as Lord Grantham from 1786 to 1833, of

Wrest Park Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. It comprises Wrest Park, a Grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens, also Grade I listed, formal gardens surrounding the mansion. History Thomas Carew (1 ...

in the parish of

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish word ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, was a British

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

statesman. He changed his surname to Weddell in 1803 and to de Grey in 1833.

Origins

He was the eldest son of

Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham PC (30 November 173820 July 1786) was a British statesman. He notably served as Foreign Secretary between 1782 and 1783. Background and education Grantham was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Thomas Robin ...

(1738–1786) of Newby Hall, Newby-on-Swale, a

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...

and of adjacent

Rainton Rainton is a village in the Harrogate borough of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated about north of Boroughbridge, north-east of Ripon and south-west of Thirsk. The area has a village green and a maypole. There are approximately 120 hou ...

, both in the parish of Topcliffe in Yorkshire, by his wife Mary Yorke (1757–1830), the younger daughter of

Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, PC, FRS (9 March 1720 – 16 May 1790), styled Viscount Royston between 1754 and 1764, was an English politician and writer. Life The eldest son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, he was educated at ...

by his wife Jemima Campbell, ''suo jure'' 2nd Marchioness Grey. His younger brother was the Prime Minister Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, 1st Viscount Goderich, known to history as "Lord Goderich".

Inheritance

In 1786 he succeeded his father as 3rd

Baron Grantham Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. In 1792 he became the heir of his distant cousin

William Weddell William Weddell (13 May 1736 – 30 April 1792) of Newby Hall in the parish of Skelton-on-Ure, near Ripon in the West Riding of Yorkshire, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1766 and 1792. He created a ...

(1736–1792) of

Newby Hall Newby Hall is a country house beside the River Ure in the parish of Skelton-on-Ure in North Yorkshire, England. It is 3 miles south-east of Ripon and 6 miles south of Topcliffe Castle, by which the manor of Newby was originally held. A Grade ...

in Yorkshire, a notable art collector. Also in 1792 he became the 6th Robinson Baronet "of Newby", succeeding his father's first cousin Norton Robinson, 5th Baronet (died 1792). In 1833 he succeeded his maternal aunt Amabel Hume-Campbell, ''suo jure'' 1st Countess de Grey and 5th Baroness Lucas (1750–1833), as 2nd

Earl de Grey Earl de Grey, of Wrest in the County of Bedford, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created on 25 October 1816 (as Countess de Grey) for Amabell Hume-Campbell, Dowager Lady Polwarth and ''suo jure'' 5th ...

(according to a

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...

) and as 6th Baron Lucas, of Crudwell. He also inherited her estate of

Career

In 1798 he was admitted to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, graduating MA in 1801. He was made

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in December 1834 while holding office as

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

till April 1835, and a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1844. He was colonel-commandant of the

Yorkshire Hussars The Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed in 1794. The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and served in the Second Boe ...

, a part-time

Yeomanry Cavalry The Yeomanry Cavalry was the mounted component of the British Volunteer Corps, a military auxiliary established in the late 18th century amid fears of invasion and insurrection during the French Revolutionary Wars. A yeoman was a person of r ...

regiment, for over forty years and was appointed yeomanry aide-de-camp to

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and held similar position under

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. Lord Grantham was nominated as

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

in 1818, an office which he held until his death. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

from September 1841 to July 1844. During his time in Ireland he disagreed with Peel's religious conciliation of Ireland, claiming that economic conciliation was a greater priority.C. Read, "Peel, De Grey and Irish Policy 1841–44" History, January 2014, p. 1-18. He called for more legislation focused on Ireland whilst Peel pursued economic legislation aimed at benefitting the UK as a whole.

Other public positions

On the founding of the ''Institute of British Architects in London'' in 1834 he was invited to become its first president remaining so till his death in 1859. The institute received its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

in 1837 becoming Royal Institute of British Architects in London; he was also the first president of the

Royal Architectural Museum The Royal Architectural Museum was an English museum, established in London in 1851 to educate architects and workers on architectural art. It closed during World War I, and most of its collections are now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Hi ...

. Earl de Grey was also a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

from 1841, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and served as one of the New Buckingham Palace Commissioners from 1848. He remodelled his London

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

at No.4

St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or f ...

(now the Naval & Military Club) and between February 1833 and October 1839 rebuilt

, his seat in

, in the French style, assisted by James Clephan. He redesigned the deer park and added decoration and several statues.

Marriage and children

In 1805 he married Lady Henrietta Cole, a daughter of

William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736 – 22 May 1803), styled The Honourable from 1760 to 1767, then known as Lord Mountflorence to 1776 and as Viscount Enniskillen to 1789, was an Irish peer and politician. Enniskille ...

, by whom he had two daughters and co-heiresses: *Ann Florence de Grey (Countess Cowper), eldest daughter and co-heiress, who married

George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806 – 15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician. He served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under his uncle Lord Melbo ...

. She was ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Baroness Lucas, having inherited that title from her father. *Mary Gertrude de Grey, younger daughter and co-heiress.

Death and succession

Lord de Grey died in November 1859, aged 77, having survived his wife by eleven years. He was succeeded in the Barony of Lucas of Crudwell by his daughter, Ann de Grey (Countess Cowper), who married

. His other titles, unable to pass via a female line, passed to his

heir male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

, namely his nephew, George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, 2nd Earl of Ripon.

References

* ''The Earl de Grey's account of the building of Wrest House, History of Wrest House'', introduction by A. F. Cirket, The Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, Volume 59, pp 65–87, Bedford 1980 * ''Earl de Grey'', Charles Read, London 200

External links

Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey , National Portrait Gallery

Thomas Philip de Grey , National Trust Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Grey, Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl 1781 births 1859 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects Yorkshire Hussars officers

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Barons Lucas